Mike McGlinchey Commitment 3rd OL from Junior Day

Last night I wrote that Notre Dame would be looking to add at least one more offensive lineman in this year’s class after picking up Hunter Bivin and Colin McGovern during this weekend’s junior day. Well, it didn’t take long for Brian Kelly and the Irish to find one with Philadelphia area tackle prospect Mike McGlinchey giving Notre Dame it’s 3rd offensive line commitment from the weekend and 4th overall.

McGlinchey, a massive 6’9″, 290 lb tackle from William Penn High in Philadelphia, didn’t take too long to think about everything he saw during Notre Dame’s junior day. The talented offensive linemen with a host of impressive offers decided Notre Dame was the place for him on his ride back to Philadelphia following his weekend visit to South Bend.

McGlinchey and his father were actually close enough to Notre Dame on their drive back that they decided to turn around and head back to campus to talk with Kelly and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand according to Irish Sports Daily. Notre Dame was also McGlinchey’s dream school according to ISD’s Christian McCollom.

“Nothing really changed,” McGlinchey said. “I fell in love with it when I was there. It was only me and my dad out here, so I didn’t want to make a decision without my mom and my brother and my uncle before.

“I talked to them on the phone and I decided it’s the right place for me and it’s a dream come true to be able to be a member of the Notre Dame football team.”

Prior to committing to Notre Dame, McGlinchey picked up offers from the likes of Boston College, Florida, Florida State, Iowa, Miami, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Scout and 247 Sports both rate McGlinchey as a 4-star prospect while Rivals has him as a 3-star. Like Collin McGovern though, McGlinchey’s offer list could be a good sign that a 4th star will be coming his way from Rivals. Also of note, ESPN has Notre Dame’s latest commitment on their Top 150 Watch List.

With McGlinchey on board, Notre Dame now has four offensive line out of six commitments in this class and the one common theme is size. All four are 6’6″ or taller and 280 lbs or more. With all of that height and bulk, it will be interesting to see where each ends up playing. McGlinchey, because of his height, seems destined for tackle as being 6’9″ would make it difficult to play on the interior of the offensive line.

McGlinchey’s commitment could mean that one of either Hunter Bivin or Colin McGovern gets a look inside at guard as well.

Even after this latest pick up by Notre Dame, I would expect the Irish coaching staff to target another lineman in this class – someone who would exclusively play on the interior of the line.